thedevelopingplot

After a month’s break Homesown will be back at the markets starting this weekend with a stall at the Wolvercote Community Market on Sunday 8th May. Orders for delivery and pre-orders for pick up at the market can be made by email: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com There is free delivery within 5 miles of Oxford for orders of £10 or more.

Below is only a selection of what is available this week.

Vegetables:

Tomatoes: all £1.80 a pot

There are four different varieties to choose from. Most are still in 9cm pots and are being hardened off. They have all been chosen for their flavour and how well they have grown for me in the past. All can be grown outside or under cover and they are all excellent croppers. They are all cordon varieties which means they will need to be tied in to a support as they grow and have any side shoots removed. They will need a little more hardening off before being planted out after all danger of frost has gone.

Black Krim: Perhaps the most delicious tomato of all. It can be grown either under cover or outside once the weather is good. It produces large fruit in abundance which are fantastic either eaten raw or cooked in sauces.

Sungold: A favourite orange skinned cherry tomato which is perhaps the sweetest of tomatoes.

Gardener’s Delight: a reliable red cherry tomato which has great flavour.

Stupicke Polni Rane: a medium sized tomato which has a very good flavour and is bred to be blight resistant which makes it particularly good for growing outdoors.

Courgettes: £2.00 a 9cm pot

Either a green variety, Defender or Romanesco, both prolific producers with delicious courgettes or the yellow variety, Gold Rush.

Sweetcorn: 60p a 7cm pot

Flowering Plants:

Perennials: £5.00 a 2 litre pot; £4.00 a 1.5 litre pot; £3.50 a litre pot; £3.00 a 12cm pot and £2.50 a 9cm pot.

Annuals: there will be a selection of annuals available at the market including Sunflower Vanilla Ice; Calendula Snow Princess and zeolights as well as Nicandra which has beautiful blue flowers as well as extremely attractive dark seedheads. Price: £1 for 7cm pots and £1.25 for 9cm pots.

Flowers:

There will be Market bunches (£10) and jam jars (£6.50 upwards) available on Sunday.

£10.00 Pickle jars of flowers and bouquets starting at £15.00 can be delivered from this Saturday and Sunday. For delivery, orders need to be made a day in advance. Tulips, ranunculus and honesty are the stars of this week’s bunches with other lovely supporting acts such as aquilegias and anemones.

Next week, Sunday 15th May, we will be at Sofacoma Market in Lake Street, Oxford.

This is a month of weddings (close family and friends) so Homesown is on an extended holiday until the first week of May. Then there will be flowers and lots of tender vegetable plants including a range of tomato varieties, courgettes, cucumbers and beans as well as half hardies such as cosmos.

What a shift in the weather from the warm sun of last week to these wintery, freezing temperatures though the bright, extra light is a wonderful bonus.

This week’s perennials and seedlings are fine to plant out as long as the ground isn’t actually frozen as they have been hardened off outside throughout Winter. If you are interested in ordering or pre-ordering plants or flowers for collection at Wolvercote Community Market this Sunday, please email me: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com This will be the last market until early May.

Orders can also be delivered for free within 5 miles of Oxford with a minimum order of £10. Deliveries this week will be on Saturday and Sunday.

Flowers

Flower Jars:

• Small jam jars start at £6.50 with at least 15 stems
• Pickle jars are £10.00 with at least 20 stems

Bouquets:

• A small bouquet is £15 and can be ordered in a vase or gift wrapped. Each one contains at least 30 stems.

Larger bouquets can be ordered from £20 to £30 either gift wrapped or in a vase.

Plants

Perennials:

Perennial Prices:

In 2 litre pots: £5.00, 1 litre pots:£3.50 & plants in 9cm £2.50

Annuals:

The last of the named sweetpeas and the ones grown from Homesown seed at £1.50 a pot (scroll down to see details in last week’s post)

Cerinthe seedlings: £1 in a 7cm pot – roots just reaching the bottom.

I will be back at Sofacoma and Wolvercote Markets in May with a range of plants including different tomato and courgette varieties. Flowers will be available to order for Easter.

If you would like to get updates on what’s available, please sign up below:

Lovely, Spring flowers and blossomy foliage are available to order for delivery on Saturday 26th March or Sunday 27th March. See below for what’s available. Delivery is free within 5 miles of Oxford with a minimum order of £10. Alternatively, orders can be collected at South Oxford Community Market from 10.00am until midday on Sunday morning when there will also be a small range of plants.

The flowers and foliage are locally grown by me and supplemented with flowers from other local and British growers chosen for their sustainable approach. As well as the jars and bunches, bespoke bouquets can be made too – just ask. Smaller jars of flowers will be available at the market.

Please email flower orders to: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com by Friday morning for this weekend.

Flowers

Mixed Bouquets

These range from £15 to £30 and can be ordered gift wrapped or arranged in a vase. As a guide, each £15 bouquet will include at least 30 stems and often more.

Mixed Jars

Jam jars for £6.50 – with at least 12 stems of the loveliest flowers and foliage

Pickle jars for £10 – with at least 20 stems of the loveliest flowers and foliage

There will also be bunches of narcissi to buy at the Market on Sunday.

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This Sunday, March 20th, the Homesown stall will be at Wolvercote Community Market with a range of plants including bee friendly perennials and annuals, along with pots of bulbs and hopefully some salad plugs, all grown in peat free compost by me locally. There will be a very small selection of houseplants. More details of what will be available below.

There will also be jars, pots and bouquets of lovely Spring flowers such as narcissi, tulips, blossom and other seasonal beauties such as hellebores and honesty available to buy at the market or for delivery from Sat March 19th. Jam jars of flowers are £6.50; pickle jars £10 and gift wrapped bouquets start at £15.

Mother’s Day Flower Orders: these can also be made now and can be delivered from March 25th. Each bunch or bouquet will contain a mixture of lovely Spring flowers and foliage grown by me supplemented with flowers from other local and British growers chosen for their sustainable approach. As well as the jars and bunches, bespoke bouquets can be made too – just ask. Smaller jars of flowers will be available at the market.

Contact me to order at: thedevelopingplot@gmail.com Delivery is free within 5 miles of Oxford (with a minimum order of £10).

Flowers

Plants

A selection of some of the plants available this week

Annuals

Homesown Sweetpea Mix: these are grown from seed saved from my favourite varieties chosen for their amazing scent and colour. The seedlings tolerate down to -5 so once they germinated, they were left outside to harden up. If the weather is particularly brutal, they might need a little protection. Prepare the soil to help water retention and plant out from start of March when weather is hospitable. Plant each pot around 8″ apart. Sweetpeas like to be well watered and prefer sun. They will need support to clamber up and regular picking to keep them flowering. They are the most generous of flowering annuals, but do need quite a lot of attention. I think it is worth it for the scent alone. £1.50 a 9cm pot of 3 seedlings.

Sweetpea Helen Millar: lavender wash over white petals and beautiful scent

Sweetpea Mrs Bernard Jones: rosy pink ruffled petals with fantastic fragrance

Sweetpea Mrs Collier: heritage variety with creamy flowers and delicious scent

All named varieties of sweetpeas: £1.50 a 9cm pot of 2 seedlings.

Perennials:

Geums: the flowers of both these varieties are prolific from Spring onwards with a second flush of flowers later in the season – beautiful flowers on dancing stems. They enjoy most positions and soil types including partial shade and clay. Tends to be evergreen in my garden. Flowers are great for cutting too and can grow to around 75 cm but stay shorter in my clay soil.  £3.00 a 1 litre pot & £5.00 a 2 litre pot

Linaria Canon Went: a delicate pink toadflax which is long flowering with spires that are a magnet for butterflies and bees. It prefers well drained soil in sun and has a clump forming habit. These plants were started last year and have been completely hardened off outside over Winter. Plants can grow to roughly 75cm and should be planted at least 30 cm apart. £3.00 a 9cm pot; £3.50 for 12 cm pot & £2.50 for 9cm pot.

Knautia Macedonia: a top favourite plant, it is also a great favourite with pollinating insects. It has a neat rosette of leaves and truly lovely magenta scabious type flower on wiry stems and can grow up to 75 cms (30 ins). Prefers a sunny spot in well drained soil, but copes very well with my clay soil in part shade. Clumps up every year and can be divided. £2.50 for 9cm pot; £3.50 for 1 litre; £5 for 2 litre.

Salad Plugs: mizuna, salad rocket and mustard leaves 25p each or 5 for £1

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More and more light every day which is waking seeds, bulbs and plants into optimistic fresh growth. The greenhouse is almost full of seedlings and there are trays and trays of seeds being coaxed into life. As room in there is scarce, any small plant that can be moved is put outside to cope with what ever the weather has to offer. It joins the hardy perennials which have been out all winter slowly growing bigger and stronger roots. This means that many plants, including the first sowing of sweetpeas are well and truly hardened off and ready to be planted out. Below is a selection of what is available this week.

Email me at thedevelopingplot@gmail.com to place an order or reserve plants to be picked up at a market. Or just come along and see what’s there. Deliveries are free within 5 miles of Oxford (minimum order £10). A small charge applies for deliveries further afield.

Homesown stalls in March:

Sofacoma Market in Lake St, Oxford on March 13th & 27th

Wolvercote Community Market at the White Hart Community Pub on March 20th

Mother’s Day Flower Orders: these can also be made now and will be delivered from March 25th. Each bunch or bouquet will contain a mixture of lovely Spring flowers and foliage grown by me supplemented with flowers from other local and British grown flowers. Pickle jars of flowers cost £10 and bouquets range from £15 to £30. Bespoke bouquets can be made too – just ask. Smaller jars of flowers will be available at the market.

What’s Available this Week:

Autumn Sown Annuals & Bulbs

Briza Maxima: a beautiful and appealing annual grass which is a generous self seeder. Its lockets of flowers dangle and dance in the breeze. It dries easily too.

Cerinthe Major: a lovely unfussy plant which gently and reliably self seeds. As well as being a pretty filler in the border and the vase, its attractive, purple bell-like flowers are an irresistible magnet for bees and other pollinators. It has silver grey/green leaves which often have a blue wash. It flowers early and long. Space plants 12″ apart. Enjoys sun, but flowers well in part shade too as well as tolerating clay soil. The plants are all grown from seeds gathered from my plot. Plants have been hardened off and can be put in the garden now. £1.50 a 9cm pot

Homesown Sweetpea Mix: these are grown from seed saved from my favourite varieties chosen for their amazing scent and colour. The seedlings tolerate down to -5 so once they germinated, they were left outside to harden up. If the weather is particularly brutal, they might need a little protection. Prepare the soil to help water retention and plant out from start of March when weather is hospitable. Plant each pot around 8″ apart. Sweetpeas like to be well watered and prefer sun. They will need support to clamber up and regular picking to keep them flowering. They are the most generous of flowering annuals, but do need quite a lot of attention. I think it is worth it for the scent alone. £1.50 a 9cm pot of 3 seedlings.

Scilla siberica: bright blue flowers with attractive narrow strap like leaves. Grow to about 15 to 20 cms and can spread year on year if they like your garden conditions. Can be planted in full sun or part shade in well drained soils. I love these. £1.50 a 9cm pot

Allium Cowanii: Umbel-like star shaped white flowers with strap shaped leaves. It is perennial and will increase year on year. An extremely attractive flower which grows well in containers, it likes well drained soil in sun. If your soil is heavy clay like mine, add grit when planting. A brilliant cut flower which is very attractive to pollinators. £3.50 in 2 litre pots

Perennials:

Geranium Bill Wallis: one of the most cheerful and tough plants in my garden. It thrives in all sorts of conditions and gently self seeds. Its pretty purple flowers are long lasting and give a lovely cottage garden feel. Good for the front of a border or filling in the gaps. £2.50 a 9cm pot and £4.00 a 2 litre pot.

Geum Totally Tangerine: an all time favourite for the front of the border. Its flowers are prolific from Spring and it often has a second flush of flowers later in the season – beautiful orange/apricot flowers on dancing stems. It enjoys most positions and soil types including partial shade and clay, though it doesn’t like to be water logged in Winter. Tends to be evergreen in my garden. Flowers are great for cutting too and can grow to around 75 cm but stay shorter in my clay soil. £3.00 a 1 litre pot & £5.00 a 2 litre pot

Foxglove Lutea: a perennial foxglove with creamy/primrose yellow flowers loved by pollinating insects. Its delicate bells are very attractive and it bulks up year on year. Great for cutting, it likes shade to semi shade in well drained soil, but will grow in sun too. It reaches 60 cm. A limited number of 9 and 12 cm pots pots available now for £1.50 – £3.50. A reminder that foxgloves are poisonous if ingested.

Linaria Canon Went: a delicate pink toadflax which is long flowering with spires that are a magnet for butterflies and bees. It prefers well drained soil in sun and has a clump forming habit. These plants were started last year and have been completely hardened off outside over Winter. Plants can grow to roughly 75cm and should be planted at least 30 cm apart. £3.00 a 9cm pot – £3.50 for 12 cm pot.

Fresh and dried wreaths are available to buy, pre-order and for delivery/dispatch. Fresh wreaths are made on a moss and wire base and are covered in generous handfuls of fresh foliage, berries and beautiful seedheads. All the ingredients are from my plot, garden or lightly foraged locally. If the moss is kept damp, the wreath will last weeks and weeks.

Dried wreaths will last for years if kept in a dry place and out of direct sunlight.

All wreaths are delivered free of charge within 6 miles of Oxford and can be dispatched further away. Please contact me to ask for details. All queries and orders should be emailed to:

thedevelopingplot&gmail.com

Fresh Wreaths

Fresh wreaths are roughly 17 inches in diameter and cost £20

Make Your Own Wreath Kits

If you would like to have a go at making your own festive wreath, you have the choice of two separate kits. Each comes with instructions:

A Basic Kit for £10.00: included is a wire base, reel wire, moss and mossing pins. These are all you need to make the base and to attach your own ingredients.

A Get You Started Kit for £15.00: This comes with an already mossed base, mossing pins to attach larger ingredients, and some berries and foliage to make a start before adding more of your own.

Dried Everlasting Wreaths

Upcoming Markets

Sofacoma at Lake St Community Centre, Oxford: 5th December

Wolvercote Community Market at White Hart Pub, Wolvercote: 5th December and 12th December

If you would like to be kept up to date with what’s available, please sign up below: